Tritone Hexatonic Scales

Looking for another way to alter a Dom7 chord, I combined the concepts of triad pairs and tritone substitution to create a hexatonic (6-note) scale. The scales below are for G7 and use the G major (G-B-D) and Db major (Db-F-Ab) triads. When the notes are arranged linearly, you get the scale G-Ab-B-Db-D-F or 1-b9-3-#11-5-b7 resulting in a G7(#11,b9) sound. I’m thinking of the Db enharmonically as C#, thus the #11 instead of b5. Download the PDF here for the notation or scroll down past the video to view the JPEGs.

This scale will give you three distinct modal patterns for guitar:

1st Mode – based off the root of each triad (G and Db)

2nd Mode – based off the 3rd of each triad (B and F)

3rd Mode – based off the 5th of each triad (D and Ab)

Fingerings of each mode are the same ascending & descending and are notated on the modes of G. Other fingering options are possible and should be explored. On the video, I played the modes based off the scale, not the triads. The order is listed below showing the first note of each mode.

About

Pete Weise is a professional guitarist and educator based in Dallas,TX. In addition to club dates and session work, Mr. Weise’s credits include the Texas Tenors, the Plano Symphony, the Lone Star Jazz Orchestra, the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival, Saratoga Arts Fest and has performed with Wayne Burgeron, Tom “Bones” Malone and Clay Jenkins. He holds a B.M. and M.M. in Jazz Performance from the University of North Texas and has studied with Fred Hamilton, Jimi Tunnell, John McLean, Jeff Andrews, Brad Shepik and Dave Fiuczynski. | Read More